Lee University’s Encore Program, which offers people age 60 and over the opportunity to take university courses, has a new line up of specially-designed mini-courses for the spring.  These mini-courses are planned exclusively for Encore-eligible students.

With only a $25 fee for up to two courses, the Encore Program will offer the following courses: Observational Drawing; Medical Sociology: Health, Illness, and Health Care; Memoir Writing; Chinese Language and Culture; Book of Hebrews; Local Archaeology; and Computer for Beginners I, II, III.

Observational Drawing is a five-week course designed to address the technical and expressive aspects of drawing. The goals of this class are learning to see as an artist sees and to accurately draw from life-observation and photographic sources.

Assistant Professor of Art Mary Mathias-Dickerson is the instructor for this course meeting on Tuesdays from 8:30-10:30 a.m. starting Jan. 24.

Medical Sociology: Health, Illness, and Health Care is a five-week course designed to examine health and illness from a life course perspective, with an emphasis on improving health. Students will analyze U.S. regions and groups that have the highest levels of well-being and will also be provided with information to assess the quality of medical practitioners and hospitals.

The course instructors are Professor of Sociology Dr. Karen Mundy-Judkins and Sociologist Dr. Ben Judkins and will meet on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30-5 p.m. beginning Jan. 24.

The five-week Memoir Writing course will provide students the chance to turn life experiences into literature. During the course, students will read and reflect on some beautifully-crafted memoirs and then learn to write thoughtfully about their own lives.

The course, instructed by Associate Professor of English Dr. Rachel Reneslasis, will meet on Thursdays from 4-5:15 p.m. beginning Feb. 2.

Book of Hebrews is a five-week course that will survey the message of the book of Hebrews. It will use the inductive Bible study method and seek to understand the message of Hebrews in its historical and literary context. The course will explore the meaning of the message of Hebrews for contemporary Christian living.

Dr. Jerome Boone, Professor of Old Testament and Christian Formation, will instruct the course on Thursdays from 4-5:30 p.m. starting on Jan. 26.

Chinese Language and Culture is a five-week course where students will explore the mysteries of one of the world’s oldest civilizations as they journey through Chinese language, culture, and history. From the Cold War era to the second largest economy in today’s world, be prepared to ponder the words of Confucius, peruse the Art of War, retrace the Silk Road with Marco Polo, and more.

Assistant Professor of Chinese Dr. Phebe Gray will teach the course which will meet on Thursdays from 3:00-4:15 p.m. beginning March 15.

Local Archaeology is a course designed to provide an introduction to research design and method in anthropological archaeology. Participants in the course will get to examine artifacts and participate in an excavation at a local research site.

The course instructors are Professors Dr. Murl Dirksen and Dr. Richard R. Jones. The course will meet on Friday afternoons from 2-4 p.m. starting on March 2.

Computer for Beginners I, II, and III are taught by Adjunct Instructor Mike Seago.

Computer for Beginners I is for the computer novice and will meet Tuesday afternoons from Jan. 31-Feb. 28. Starting with the basics, this course will enable students to become confident in using the computer for emailing and accessing the internet.

Computer for Beginners II will be meeting Tuesday afternoons March 13-April 10. This course is a continuation of Beginners I for those who know the basics, but would like to know more. Students will discover new ways to search the web, make better use of email, use a digital camera, download pictures and enhance them.

Computer for Beginners III, designed for accomplished beginners, is a nine-week course that will meet Monday afternoons Feb. 1-March 22. This course provides a basic study of Microsoft Office and its applications. Students will learn handy shortcuts and tips to become skilled users of the most popular computer functions.

Students may choose up to two courses from the list of traditional courses and special lecture topics. All enrolled students will have free entry to campus concerts, plays and athletic events.

Fast Track Registration will be held in the Centenary Room of the Higginbotham Administration Building from 5:30-7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan.12 and Monday, Jan. 16. Participants can drop-in and complete registration in one step during these times.

Lee University's Encore Program is a part of the institution's commitment of service to the community.

For more information about Encore, visit www.leeuniversity.edu/encore or contact Ellie Pfahl at 423-614-8598 or epfahl@leeuniversity.edu.